I hate dog poop, but given the huge favor your neighbor is doing for you and the likely fact that he has been a good neighbor I would never say anything (unless it happens after the fence is complete) and simply take care of it myself. Giving him the bag or asking to put it in his trash can is a passive-aggressive move that is unnecessary and on the nasty side. Just double bag it for your trash can and chalk this up to a one-time incident that doesn't much matter. It's the nice thing to do.

Seriously??? All this fuss over one episode of dog poop?!?!? Why can't you throw it in your trash and just be grateful it isn't a constant problem? If someone made this much hoohaw about this WHILE I'm doing them a really big favor, that would be the last time I had anything to do with them. Burglar climbing in your window--tough beans. Flames shooting out of your roof while you're on vacation--too bad. Sign for your packages so you don't have to drive out to the depot on the weekend--no way. Part of being a good neighbor is considering the intention behind the deed and cutting people some slack!

I agree (and don't have a dog fwiw). If my neighbor, that I was doing a hundreds of dollars worth of a favor for, showed up on my doorstep and handed me a bag of poop and then went into Toots lecture I'd be hard pressed to finish the fence let alone ever go out of my way to do anything for them again.

Seriously??? All this fuss over one episode of dog poop?!?!? Why can't you throw it in your trash and just be grateful it isn't a constant problem? If someone made this much hoohaw about this WHILE I'm doing them a really big favor, that would be the last time I had anything to do with them. Burglar climbing in your window--tough beans. Flames shooting out of your roof while you're on vacation--too bad. Sign for your packages so you don't have to drive out to the depot on the weekend--no way. Part of being a good neighbor is considering the intention behind the deed and cutting people some slack!

I agree (and don't have a dog fwiw). If my neighbor, that I was doing a hundreds of dollars worth of a favor for, showed up on my doorstep and handed me a bag of poop and then went into Toots lecture I'd be hard pressed to finish the fence let alone ever go out of my way to do anything for them again.

I completely agree.

I get it isn't a pleasant task but it is very minor when you consider the type of favour these people are doing for you. Even if it isn't a big deal for them, it is a big deal for you.

Seriously??? All this fuss over one episode of dog poop?!?!? Why can't you throw it in your trash and just be grateful it isn't a constant problem? If someone made this much hoohaw about this WHILE I'm doing them a really big favor, that would be the last time I had anything to do with them. Burglar climbing in your window--tough beans. Flames shooting out of your roof while you're on vacation--too bad. Sign for your packages so you don't have to drive out to the depot on the weekend--no way. Part of being a good neighbor is considering the intention behind the deed and cutting people some slack!

I agree (and don't have a dog fwiw). If my neighbor, that I was doing a hundreds of dollars worth of a favor for, showed up on my doorstep and handed me a bag of poop and then went into Toots lecture I'd be hard pressed to finish the fence let alone ever go out of my way to do anything for them again.

I completely agree.

I get it isn't a pleasant task but it is very minor when you consider the type of favour these people are doing for you. Even if it isn't a big deal for them, it is a big deal for you.

It's way less work than building a fence.

Put the poop in a plastic bag and tie it shut. Put it outside your garage until garbage day. On garbage day, put it in the can. Your can won't smell. That's how I always handled my dog's poop. I only put it in the can at the last minute.

If the OP is not grossed out, then it may be easier to deal with it by cleaning until the fence is up. As for me, the thought of picking up poop (even with a bag over my hand) is making me gag, so I don't know what I would do. Get my (nonexistent) DH to do it, I guess . Especially if he's the one who don't want to make waves.

I am with the others. I think it wouldn't be very fine form or neigbourliness to complain given the huge favour and money savings you are receiving. Once the fence is up again, you won't have to deal with it.

Okay, I will be the lone dissenter here, but as a non-dog owner there would be NO WAY that I would be cleaning up 10 piles of dog poop!

I like dogs, but the main reason we don't have one is that I am totally and thoroughly disgusted by picking up poop. Yuk! DH wanted a dog, and I said fine by me. I will do everything to take care of said dog, including vet visits and training classes, but I refuse to pick up poop. Funny how we don't have a dog.....

I think folks who have dogs are somewhat desensitized to poop pick up. If you have a dog yourself, it may not be a big deal to you to just go and clean it up. However, if you don't have a dog, I don't think you would be out of line to ask your neighbor to do it. It's all in how you approach them. If you ask them nicely, "I don't know if you noticed, but Fido left some pretty large piles on our yard and I was hoping that you would be willing to come clean it up. I have to admit I'm sensitive/grossed out by dog poop and I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!"

I also feel that just getting you a discount on the fence (it's part of their business so probably not a big deal to them) is NOT enough of a reason to give them a pass. They are doing the fence for cheaper, but they are also getting the fence done exactly the way they want so it is a benefit for them as well. Not really as much of a favor as one might think. Also I don't think that doing a favor for someone means that you can expect them to let something like this go. "I saved them $$$ on a new fence, and those neighbors have the gall to ask me to remove "trash" from their yard that I am responsible for?" Sounds pretty SS to me.

I agree.

If my DH was willing to pick it all up and dispose of it, fine I'd go along with with not saying anything. But if *I* was expected to pick up 10 piles of excrement? Well let me put it this way - I'd rather go into years of debt paying thousands of dollars for the new fence full price. I do not ever want to deal with multiple large piles of excrement left for me to pick up from an animal that is not mine, in my yard of a home i paid more money on then any other investment I've ever made in my life.

I really think my stomach would turn and I would vomit at the fist pile - literally. Being forced to repeat that process over and over and over would not be ok. There are a lot of gross things I can deal with, but for me, dog poop is not one of them.

Several of you said this is a "one time incident". Well, yes and no. The dog has been coming into our yard every single day for the last week, and doing its business. So my view is that it's really multiple occasions. Or at least, one incident stretched over a number of days.

I also find it hard to believe our neighbours aren't noticing the absence of doggie doo-doo. Their backyard is small and well maintained, so surely the absence would be apparent?

Anyway, the majority of you have advised us not to say anything, because of the favour Mr Neighbour is doing with the fence, so we won't press the issue.

I agree with your DH. I also think he can be the one to pick up the poop. I do think it's worth the "several hundred dollars" that you are saving on the fence.

DF gets very squicked out when it comes to chores like this. So guess who went out last night and picked up the 10 stinking piles? Yup. Me. DF wasn't going to do it. I used a shovel and wrapped it in layers and layers of newspaper and stuck it in our bin.

If the cleaning up of the poop is really so bad for you (and I can't say that I blame you), you could hire someone to do it. There are professional pooper scooper services and it wouldn't cost too much to have them come a couple of times until the fence is done. For even less, you could hire one of the neighborhood kids to do it.

If you have a motion activated water sprinkler you could set that up, ready to shoot the dog with water when it tried to venture out on your property. Or you could set up your sprinkler and turn it on manually when you see the dog. Or get a cap gun and set it off every time it walks on your land, that would deter it.

Hopefully, that section of fence will be going up soon. I wouldn't say anything either. But if I did, it might be something like, "Hi neighbor, I wanted to let you know that your dog has been getting out of your yard and I was worried about his safety." Maybe you or the neighbors could put something temporarily across that section so the dog can't get out?